Issues → May/June 2011 → Features → Food Trails: New England's Culinary Legacies →
Maine Food Trail: Lobster Rolls
by Jonathan Levitt
A lobster roll is a simple thing: basically, cold lobster meat stuffed into a warm bun. It's the street food of the rocky Maine coast--a vernacular masterpiece served high and low, at lobster pounds, cookhouses, and seafood shacks, at supermarkets and gas stations, at fast-food chains and in home kitchens.
But for a lobster roll to be a lobster roll, and not a lobster salad or some other concoction, it shouldn't stray too far from the classic archetype; you can bend the lobster-roll rules, but you shouldn't break them. For example, the bun can be any shape as long as it's brushed with butter and slapped on the griddle to cook to a golden-brown; stale buns, freezer-burned buns, and ungrilled buns will ruin the roll. The meat, ideally a mix of knuckle and claw, with maybe a little bit of tail, must be picked from the bright red shells of freshly cooked lobsters, not leftover or dead ones. It's best chilled but not quite cold; tossed with salt, black pepper, and a little bit of mayonnaise; and packed tightly and neatly into the bun. A pickle on top is traditional; so are a lettuce leaf (Bibb is best), a sprinkle of celery salt or paprika, and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice.
Most Maine lobster rolls fit some variation of this description. Some are better than others, some are a lot worse, but context is what really separates the best-in-show from all the other mutts. At its best, a lobster roll is an edible excuse to drive down some long road to some big view and to take it all in with seagull sounds and a side of onion rings. Here are five classic lobster-roll spots where the sights are just as good as the grub.
Bagaduce Lunch
For 60 years folks have been slinging seafood, fried and steamed, from a little red-and-white shack perched on a hilltop overlooking the tidal Bagaduce River. Watch for eagles fishing in the falls. 145 Franks Flat, Penobscot. 207-326-4729, 207-326-4197
The Cod End
It's right on a working wharf, with views out to the Muscle Ridge Islands, the bubbly granite shore, and pointed firs: foggy, soggy, and piratey. 12 Commercial St., Tenants Harbor. 207-372-6782; codend.com
J's Oyster
J's may be the last of Portland's salty, divey seafood houses. Casco Bay and the urban working waterfront are right outside the door: condos, cruise ships, and bait houses. 5 Portland Pier, Portland. 207-772-4828; jsoyster.com
The Lobster Shack at Two Lights
Don't miss this one for the atmosphere: open ocean, battered cliffs, foghorns, wind, and crashing waves. 225 Two Lights Road, Cape Elizabeth. 207-799-1677; lobstershacktwolights.com
Thurston's Lobster Pound
End of the road, end of the earth: Look for mountain views, bluebloods, bluehairs, and swarms of fishing boats. Steamboat Wharf Road, Bernard. 207-244-7600; thurstonslobster.com
Reader Comments
Comment from Ann Kennedy on July 7, 2011
Comment from Marilyn Otterson on July 7, 2011
Thanks for these recommendations. I always love a good lobster roll that is really LOBSTER. I had a disappointing experience at the famous lobster roll hut in Wiscasset a couple of years ago. After standing in line for about 45 minutes, I ordered my much-anticipated \"best in Maine\" lobster rolll. What a disappointment. The roll was cold and the drawn \"butter\" tasted amazingly like margarine. Was it a bad day? Did they run out of butter? I don\'t know, but it was a let-down. I even wrote to the place about it (no answer) as I thought that, although it was filled with LOTS of lovely lobster, it really needed real butter, and a nice, toasted roll. Anyway, I\'ll try some of your recommendations.....and hope that it was a fluke that left me unhappy in Wiscasset that day.
Comment from Pearl Edwards on July 7, 2011
There a little fish market just before you get to the parking lot at Barnstable Harbor. Very good lobster rolls--chunks of lobster, no filler,not too much dressing and the rolls are nice and crispy. A little pricy, but worth it.
Comment from Freddie Myers on July 7, 2011
Allison\'s Restaurant, in Kenebunkport, makes my favorite lobster roll!
Comment from Lois Main on July 7, 2011
Lobster rolls in Connecticut are traditionally HOT lobster with lots of butter - never any mayonnaise - on a toasted roll. Much more tasty in my opinion.
Comment from DJ Norris on July 9, 2011
Visited Red\'s Eats in Wiscasset a couple weeks ago. Best lover roll I have ever had - lots of lobster!! It was served on a warm toasted roll with butter and mayo.
Comment from DJ Norris on July 9, 2011
Visited Red\'s Eats in Wiscasset a couple weeks ago. Best lobster roll I have ever had - lots of lobster!! It was served on a warm toasted roll with butter and mayo.
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